We Malayalees have a tendency to quote famous Malayalam movie dialogues, when we are faced with different life situations. Dont you think so? If you are a regular visitor here, you should know I’ve proclaimed my “unending” love for beef many a times. Given this much background info, let’s play a game.
Can you guess the famous Malayalam movie dialogue I had in mind, when I got the following comment from a reader for “Beef Podimasala” recipe.
“No hindu would ever try this recipe, I hav unsubscribed from your website after seeing these. Not a single indian food website even the top listed, are showing these absurd recipes about beef.”
So ready with your guesses? I’ll give a clue, it’s a famous political satire film and some people consider it as a classic. It’s from the movie – “Sandesham”. Now I’m sure you if you’re a Malayalee, you must be saying the dialogue out loud. “Polandine patti oraksharam mindarathu”! (“Don’t say a word about Poland”) I just replaced Poland with Beef in that sentence ;)
How-much-ever, I like to live a carefree life without any theories and rules and regulations, I do have so many rules or practices of my own making, sigh! One such practice is not to reply to anyone, when I’m not in the right frame of my mind, especially if I’m provoked. I try to follow this in my personal life and also blogging. My commenting policy? In short, think of it as going to a friend’s house, wouldn’t you respect that friend? Anyways…
When somebody tells me something which makes me angry and upset; I keep quiet without replying immediately. I’m not sure whether it’s good or bad. But my logic is that, I don’t want to regret later over something which I shouldn’t have said. I take my time to process the situation and respond if and when required. From my experience most of the time, it’s best not to reply.
Hear, But Not Listen ;)
It doesn’t mean, I don’t express my feelings. I do, but I make sure that it’s done in a way, that doesn’t make me regret it later. Now you know why most of my recipes have “crushed ginger & garlic”, and why the mortar and pestle is my fav kitchen tool !! ;)
I got that comment two years ago and if you are wondering why I’m writing about it now…Let me quote another fav movie dialogue of mine “ellathinum athintethaya samayam undu Dasa” ;) (“There’s a time for everything Dasa…”)
About this recipe… it actually reminded me of a long forgotten taste. But the thing is I’m sure I haven’t tasted it from my home or anybody else’s. I must have tasted it from some restaurant or thattu kada. I felt this curry had some kind of crudeness to it. The masala flavour was not subtle, it’s kinda out there. When you pair it with some side dishes, it works out well. We had it with some coconut rice and it was a great combo!
Here is the recipe…
Grind together chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder (1/2 tsp), pepper powder, cloves, cinnamon, fenugreek, smal onion (3) and garlic with 2-3 tbsp water to a smooth paste…
Add 1/4 turmeric powder and a pinch of salt to coconut bits and fry it. Keep it aside…
Add the ground paste, fried coconut bits, salt and 1.5 cups water to cleaned beef. Mix well using your hands. Pressure cook till it’s done…
Heat oil in a pan and crackle mustard seeds. Add sliced small onion (2.5 tbsp) and fry till golden brown. Add curry leaves and cooked beef. Mix well and cook for 2-3 mins…
Add the reserved gravy gradually, bring to a boil. Reduce flame and cook till till the gravy has thickened…
Recipe adapted from Vanitha Magazine
- Beef - ½ kg (measured after cleaning)
- Chilli powder - ½ - 1 tbsp
- Coriander powder - ½ - 1 tbsp
- Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
- Pepper powder - 1 tsp
- Cloves - 3
- Fennel seeds (perumjeerakam) - ¼ tsp
- Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
- Small onion - 3
- Garlic - 4 cloves
- Coconut bits (thengakothu) - ¼ -1/2 cup
- Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
- Mustard - ½ tsp
- Sliced small onion - 2.5 tbsp
- Curry leaves
- Oil - I used coconut oil
- Salt
- Grind together chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder (1/2 tsp), pepper powder, cloves, cinnamon, fenugreek, small onion (3) and garlic with 2-3 tbsp water to a smooth paste.
- Add ¼ turmeric powder and a pinch of salt to coconut bits and fry it. Keep it aside.
- Add the ground paste, fried coconut bits, salt and 1.5 cups water to cleaned beef. Mix well using your hands. Pressure cook till it's done (refer notes). Separate the cooked beef from the gravy/stock.
- Heat oil in a pan and crackle mustard seeds. Add sliced small onion (2.5 tbsp) and fry till golden brown. Add curry leaves and cooked beef. Mix well and cook for 2-3 mins. Add the reserved gravy gradually, bring to a boil. Reduce flame and cook till till the gravy has thickened and oil starts appearing on top.
- Let the curry rests for half an hour or so, for the flavour to settle in.
- You can serve it with Puttu, Pathiri, Parotta, Chapathi or even normal Rice and Curry.
The consistency of the curry is semi dry. But you can adjust the qty of gravy to suit your requirements. Keep in mind that the gravy thickens as it rests, so adjust the consistency accordingly.
When I tasted the curry soon after making it, I felt the masala taste a bit overpowering, but when I tasted it after sometime it was ok. However if you dont like strong masala taste, adjust the qty of spices, also after preparing the curry, if you feel masala is a bit high, just add ¼ - ½ cup of thin(diluted) coconut milk to reduce the masala taste.